The Secret Santa Crisis
by Spicas
Summary: He took the tiny ball of paper back in his hand, and uncrumpled it, revealing the words in a very familiar, cursive handwriting. Effie Trinket. Haymitch rubbed his palms against his eyes. What the hell was he gonna buy for this woman? Modern AU, Christmas fic.


_A/N: Don't ask me, but I never liked Christmas stories much and I absolutely love Christmas stories set in THG. This is a modern take on Haymitch and Effie - they're both younger in the story, so Haymitch would be around 35/36 and Effie around 30. Hope everyone likes it - please let me know your thoughts!_

* * *

 **The Secret Santa Crisis**

As a rule, Haymitch did not like the holidays.

First because, having lost his family at the young age of sixteen, Christmas lost its magic to him. He spent the next year in a foster home, and that certainly hadn't made Christmas any better. So, yeah, as a rule, Haymitch could be considered a regular Scrooge. He didn't like the decorations, he hated the holidays, and he didn't like buying presents for people he didn't really care for, especially when that included endless crowds of people in a shopping mall holding a lot of bags and walking too slowly in front of him.

He especially hated the whole tradition of Secret Santa.

Which was why he was already dreading the week before Christmas.

"I'm not going," Haymitch announced after a moment of staring at the crumpled piece of paper in front of him.

"Sure you are," Chaff replied, without skipping a beat. "I got you someone's name. Someone got you for the Secret Santa. You gotta go."

"I hate this sort of thing," Haymitch complaining, making a little ball out of the paper. "I won't go. Dunno why I was even included in this thing."

"Because you're part of the staff, even if you took a leave a while ago and just got back," Chaff reminded him. "We always have the party this time of the year. I know you ain't that busy."

"I got the girls to look after," Haymitch said after a moment.

Chaff rolled his eyes. "You know children are welcome to the party. Everybody brings them. I think they'll even have some games for them."

"We never did Secret Santa before," Haymitch grumbled.

"It was Effie who gave the idea. Everyone liked it. Seemed like a nice way to end the year," Chaff gave him a look. "Did you get Effie?"

Haymitch made a face. "No." Chaff let out a rather loud laugh. "I think there's a reason why this is called a secret, pal."

"You got Effie," Chaff concluded. He kept laughing. Haymitch might have blushed a little, but he hoped his beard covered most of it. He rattled his knuckles against the table, very much annoyed. Chaff wiped a tear from his eye, then looked at Haymitch again. "Damn. You gotta settle things with her."

"There's nothing to settle," Haymitch grumbled.

"Then why are you running from her like she's the devil?" Chaff asked, way too knowingly for someone who technically really had no idea what was going on. Haymitch certainly never told him a thing. "People are kind of talking. The two of you were flirting one day and avoiding each other on the next. Then you took the leave, well..."

"Did she say anything to you?" Haymitch asked before he could help himself.

But Chaff shook his head. "No, didn't hear a thing. But if you're wondering why Portia is giving you the cold shoulder, that's probably why. Just talk to her, man."

Haymitch took a sip of his Coke and frowned. "Why would I talk to Portia?"

Chaff rolled his eyes again. "Effie. It's not like we're a large group, you know. You two gotta be friends again. Or whatever the hell you were," he stood up. "You can start by getting her a nice Secret Santa gift."

Haymitch made a face. "What am I supposed to get her? That woman has everything."

Just then the kitchen door burst open, and a little blonde-haired girl entered the room. "Uncle Haymitch! What's for dinner?"

 _Dinner_. Right.

"Uh… pizza fine for you?" Haymitch asked her. Prim nodded happily. They had had pizza for dinner three times this week — and it was only Wednesday. "You staying, Chaff?"

"Nah, I gotta get Rue from Amanda today," Chaff shook his head. "I have her until Friday. You wanna come over tomorrow to watch the game? Blight's coming too. The girls can have a playdate."

Katniss hated that term, and she was always on a rocky ground with Blight's daughter but — a normal social life was good for the girls, he had been told. And Prim was more than happy to spend some time with Rue.

"Please, Uncle Haymitch!" she said before Haymitch could even think of it.

"Yeah, sure," Haymitch said. The little girl jumped and left the kitchen without a word — probably to tell her sister the good news. "I swear I gotta learn how to cook. We've been living off frozen food and pizza."

"Same as you've been living since… forever, you mean?" Chaff laughed. "You _should_ learn how to cook. Could even try to woo Effie by cooking her dinner. Now there's a thought," the man arched his eyebrows suggestively in a way Haymitch pointedly ignored. He put on his jacket. "Seriously, though. You can't miss it. If you do Effie's gonna get the gift someone bought for you so — that probably wouldn't be nice. She does a lot for the place."

"Yeah, yeah. I know that," Haymitch sighed. "Wish me luck."

Haymitch watched as Chaff left through the back door, letting out a long sigh. There truly was nothing to settle with Effie — they had been dancing around each other for months, both of them volunteers at the local foundation for war veterans — Haymitch being a war veteran himself, and Effie being a psychologist. They were both volunteers there — he had found out after some time that Effie's grandfather had been in the military too — and worked with the support groups together, twice a week. And, sure, he had flirted with her — she was beautiful, a little annoying sometimes, but she had helped him a lot and — well, to put things simply, he liked her.

Enough that he had never bothered on actually making a move on her, anyway. His relationships were few and far between, and most of them never went beyond a few dates. It was hard to put himself out there, he had learned that since he returned from war. Not everyone would be up for the effort that a relationship with him would need. So, for many years, it was just him, alcohol, and a few one night stands.

Of course, now he was acting guardian to his long lost nieces, so that only complicated things. And — damn, they had called him about keeping the kids just as he was about to leave his house for his first date in years with none other than Effie.

He had been so worried about them somehow being sent to foster care, or that his half-sister had somehow managed to kill herself, that he had forgotten to call Effie to let her know he wouldn't be able to make it.

And he only remembered it about three days later, once he had both children settled in his home and his sister in a close enough mental facility, finally getting the treatment she needed. Effie had left about three messages in his voicemail, sounding worried, and — well, when he did call her back to explain, she sounded very hurt and didn't really let him talk. He couldn't blame her, not really — he had stood her up, and that had to be humiliating. He figured it was just fate saying he shouldn't really try anything with her.

Not that he believed in fate.

He took the tiny ball of paper back in his hand, and uncrumpled it, revealing the words in a very familiar, cursive handwriting.

 _Effie Trinket._

Haymitch rubbed his palms against his eyes. What the hell was he gonna buy for this woman?

The kitchen door opened again, and this time it was Katniss. The eleven-year-old didn't look as friendly as her sister.

"Oh, pizza. Pepperoni for you and Hawaiian for Prim, yeah?" Haymitch asked, already standing up.

"I already ordered it," Katniss replied.

Haymitch arched his eyebrows. "You called the pizza place?"

She shook her head. "With your iPad. They have an app," she explained, and left.

Haymitch really needed to get the hang of that thing. He wasn't old enough to not know this tech stuff, and yet he was always bested by two kids.

Well, he had more pressing matters to be concerned with.

* * *

He had looked for a gift everywhere. He had gone to some shops in town, he went to a book shop but had no idea if Effie liked to read or what sort of book she liked, he even made the mistake of setting foot in a fancy boutique. It was impossible. He had no idea what to buy for her.

He could have asked Portia, he supposed, but the woman was very close to Effie and was barely looking at him these days.

Either way, he was at a total loss. Chaff laughed when he mentioned how hard it was to find a gift for Effie, and told him to get her a movie or a book — general stuff that could be exchanged if she didn't like it — but it felt too impersonal. The closest thing Haymitch had to a female friend had been _Effie_ — so that was out of question — and his own sister, who he had never been very close to. With Laurel still institutionalized, there really was no one he could ask for help.

Which was why, the exact Saturday before Christmas, the very day of the Secret Santa party, Haymitch found himself in one of his most dreaded places, fighting people holding bags and bags of Christmas shopping, with two kids next to him.

"We never eat out," Katniss commented as she finished her burger. Prim was still halfway through her Happy Meal. "Why are we eating out? You don't like crowds."

That was an interesting observation, not a wrong one at that.

"You're gonna help me find a present, okay?" Haymitch told them. "It's for the party tonight, so I gotta find it today."

That got Prim's attention. "Who is it for?"

"It's… for a friend," he offered. A safe choice. Perhaps untrue. He wasn't sure. "A woman. And I'm useless at this."

Katniss laughed. "I bet."

He gave it a rest because the girl was really just starting to be comfortable around him enough to make jokes. If the jokes were at his expense, well — as long as she was happy and didn't hurt his feelings, fine.

"You could give her a ring!" Prim exclaimed suddenly.

"No!" Haymitch denied instantly. "No ring. Uh, maybe not jewelry, unless there's no other choice. Maybe a shirt, or something."

Prim made a face. "You want to give her a shirt?" Haymitch shrugged. The little girl shared a look with her sister. "You could give her a game. Everyone likes games. You play with us sometimes. You like chess!"

Haymitch cringed. "Not sure she'd like that," he said as Prim slowly pushed her French fries towards him — he took one. "I don't wanna give her the wrong impression."

Katniss frowned. "What's the wrong impression?"

"That I don't care for her?" Haymitch offered. This was getting out of control. "I just wanna buy her something she'll like."

"Can't you ask her what she wants?" Prim asked. "Like Santa asks us when we see him at the mall?"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Katniss asked at the same time.

Haymitch looked at Katniss first. "Okay. No. She ain't my girlfriend. If I had a girlfriend, you'd have known her already," he told her firmly. He had the feeling the girl was often worried he wouldn't want them around anymore. He looked at Prim. "I can't ask her, it's _Secret_ Santa. Get it?"

The seven-year-old laughed.

They agreed to take a look around the mall once they finished lunch. Haymitch was glad he had already bought the girls' Christmas presents weeks ago, because there was no way in hell he'd find anything right now. He kept holding Prim's hand and Katniss followed them closely as they walked, making suggestions here and there. They entered three different stores and he found nothing — absolutely nothing.

For all their flirting, Haymitch didn't know a whole lot about Effie. All he knew was that she enjoyed dressing in colorful outfits, wore high heels often, and liked bracelets a lot.

He was so tired and done with this whole experience of shopping so close to Christmas that he gave in when Prim asked if they could visit the book shop. If nothing worked, he could buy Effie some random book and if she didn't like it she could simply exchange it.

So much for a meaningful gift.

He kept a close eye at Katniss, who wandered towards the Harry Potter stand, and hung around Prim in the children's section; the girls weren't huge readers but Prim liked it and Haymitch hoped he could give them at least one good habit in their lives. He was helping Prim choose one when Katniss came back empty-handed, and he frowned. She had spent a lot of time checking those books.

"You don't want any?" he asked, pointing at a colorful cover when Prim showed two different books. Katniss shook her head. "You can choose one, no problem. Your sister is getting one so you should, too. All about equality here," he joked, trying to make the situation as light as possible.

"I want this one," Prim decided, handing Haymitch the book. _Beezus and Ramona_. Haymitch smirked; perhaps even Katniss would like this one.

"That's a good choice, sweetheart," Haymitch told her. He looked at Katniss. "Come on, show me the ones you were checking out."

Katniss wordlessly led them to the section she had been looking at — fantasy books. The book shop was crowded so he kept the girls in front of him in order not to bother people checking out other books; it was just his luck that Prim bumped right into someone's butt.

He was about to apologize when he realized he _knew_ that butt.

It was just his luck that Effie would be at this shop. Truly.

"Sorry!" Prim said first, ever so polite.

Effie turned around at the interruption, gasping slightly when she realized what had just happened.

"Haymitch, hello!" she said, looking uncomfortable as well. It couldn't be just him. She did smile at Prim, though. "That's alright, dear."

"Sorry about that. Place is full today," Haymitch mumbled. Effie was holding two books herself in her hands, and wearing a pink jacket and a skirt and blouse he might have seen before. Her hair fell in waves over her shoulders. She looked great. She always looked great.

And she was staring at him rather expectantly, eyes darting to the two girls between them.

"Uh, these are my nieces. Katniss and Primrose," Haymitch said. "This is Effie, she works with me at the foundation."

"It's very nice to meet you," Effie said, offering her hand for the girls, as if this was business meeting. The girls took her hand, though — Katniss was probably glad no hug was required. "I haven't seen you in a while, Haymitch."

Haymitch scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've been going in the mornings. When the girls are at school."

And when Effie wasn't there, that went without saying, as she only worked there two afternoons a week.

"I like your outfit," Prim added — Katniss was checking the books again, not interested in the conversation.

Effie beamed at the child.

"Thank you. My mother always says that just because it's cold it doesn't mean you should be lousy with your appearance," she commented, and Haymitch felt a little self-conscious because he didn't even remember what sweater he had under his coat. Not that he cared during summer, either. "I love your hair. Did your uncle braid it?"

Haymitch snorted. Prim shook her head and giggled, then pointed to Katniss.

"So, uh, you doing Christmas shopping?" Haymitch asked, not really knowing what to say or if he should just go away; Effie hadn't made a move yet.

"Oh, I've done all of that already," Effie dismissed him. "One has to be prepared, though. I overheard my nephew saying he had just finished the first book, and I thought I'd add the second one to his collection," she pointed at the Harry Potter stand. "He's seen the movies, naturally, but reading is always healthy."

So she did like reading. He tried to spy the other book she was holding. No such luck — the Harry Potter one covered it.

"We're hunting Uncle Haymitch's Secret Santa's present," Prim added joyfully. "We have no idea what to buy."

Effie appeared surprised. "Oh, but the party is tonight. I do hope you've found something."

Prim shook her head. "Uncle Haymitch doesn't know how to buy presents for ladies."

A chuckle escaped Effie's lips, but she covered it gracefully. Haymitch was glaring at Prim.

"Well, I… don't worry too much about it, Haymitch," Effie advised him. "It's just for fun. Just a nice way to celebrate. I'm sure she'll like whatever you get her."

"Do you think she'd like a ring?" Prim asked, too seriously. "Like with a rock? Uncle Haymitch says no, but it seems really cool."

Effie smiled patiently. "Well, that might be a little off the price range, but whatever he gets, it's fine," she tossed Haymitch a look. "Please don't get Portia a ring before Cinna does so."

It was meant as a joke, clearly, but Haymitch shook his head. "Nope. Not getting her a ring, and, uh… wait, who said it was Portia?"

Effie still laughed. "Well, I'll get going. I'll be heading to the foundation early to decorate. I'm… I'm glad you're going, Haymitch. I was worried you simply wouldn't show up."

"We'll be there," Haymitch assured her. "Wouldn't want my present to go to anyone else."

She laughed again, a little nervously, and pressed the books against her chest. "Until then. Goodbye, girls."

Prim waved goodbye at her happily, Katniss mumbled it along with a side eye glance; Haymitch watched as she made her way to the cashiers among the people in the shop, and hated that things were so weird between them. It wasn't like they had had anything. They had never even kissed, or even hugged, much less something more personal. And yet…

"Is she the woman we've been searching presents for?" Katniss blurted out, a little too loudly for his own liking.

"Ohhh!" Prim exclaimed, catching up and giggling.

"Hush, you two!" Haymitch said, looking back at Effie who was now at a safe distance. "Yeah, she's the one, so try to keep quiet, eh?"

"I think she's pretty," Prim commented, little hands perusing the books in front of her with not much interest. "Did you see her earrings, Katniss? They were shaped like a _bird_. And they shone."

"I saw," Katniss replied, and Haymitch could only stare dumbfoundedly because he had barely noticed she had even been wearing any earrings to begin with. The girl finally took a book out of the stand. "Can I take this one?"

Haymitch nodded. "Yeah, sure. Is this the first one, though? Can't say I ever cared much for the movies," he commented. Katniss pursed her lips. "Let me just google it. Or we can find a someone who works in this shop," he muttered, not even bothering to look around because the crowded place would just make him dizzy.

"I can just ask Effie. I think she knows about it," the girl pointed at Effie, who was next in line for the cashier.

But Haymitch was already taking his phone out of the pocket. "No, no, it's fine, just gotta… I don't get why it doesn't unlock with my thumb sometimes, honestly…"

The girl sighed, handed Prim the book, and walked ahead; Haymitch had barely opened the browser when he noticed Katniss was already talking to Effie as if she had known her her entire life — Effie looked at him then back at the girl, a few words were exchanging, and Katniss ran back towards him and Prim. Effie smiled, and he waved at her in thanks.

"Effie says it's the _Philosopher's Stone,_ " Katniss said, quickly finding said book and picking it up.

Haymitch put his phone back in his back pocket. "How come you don't know about this, girl? I thought all kids knew this."

Katniss merely rolled her eyes. He was beginning to think he knew just about as much of pop culture as her.

Thankfully, by the time they reached the cashier queue, Effie was already leaving the shop. Haymitch wasn't sure he'd be able to handle another weird conversation — especially knowing he'd probably have to handle one more at the party tonight.

In the end, he looked at the one shop he hadn't wanted to enter, Katniss' pointed look and Prim's pleading eyes, and thought he might as well take a look around.

But he'd buy no ring, that was for sure.

* * *

Haymitch sat next to Chaff, watching from a safe distance as Prim and Rue played around — there was a little space for children in the main area of the foundation, and the girls were clearly enjoying themselves. Katniss preferred to sit by and watch, in between pages of the recently bought Harry Potter book.

There were drinks around — someone had brought eggnog, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic — and wine, and Haymitch was currently nursing a glass of non-alcoholic eggnog, as per usual.

He was a little worried about the Secret Santa thing; perhaps very worried. So what that he had spent way above the price range established for gifts? He somehow doubted he'd find anything worthy of Effie within that. That she liked, anyway.

He was mainly worried that people would _know_ that he was her Secret Santa — because as soon as the thing started, it became clear everyone was supposed to open their presents in front of everyone.

And so he waited patiently for his turn. Chaff guessed who got his gift in the first try — a bottle of bourbon given by Brutus, and if Haymitch's mouth watered a little, it was just a very long reflex, he guessed.

His palms were sweating too. He had never been part of a Secret Santa before, and the whole thing irked him to no end. Trying to guess who chose your present? It just seemed very silly.

And she looked so pretty tonight too, drinking eggnog as well — he'd have thought she would drink wine —, wearing a long-sleeved red dress with a yellow belt around her waist and dark pantyhose to match her dark heels. They spoke briefly when he arrived, and she went back to making sure everything was settled and the food was ready and the kids were happy.

And so he watched, and admittedly had some fun, watching people guess who had given them their gifts; Cressida got Brutus, Brutus got Chaff, and Chaff got Mags, Mags got Lyme, Lyme got Portia, Portia got Cinna — and Haymitch was glad to notice there was no way that earring was within the price range, but then again they _were_ a couple — and Cinna got Octavia and so on.

It became obvious to him once Boggs and Cressida shared their gifts and there only two packages under the tree that he and Effie got _each other_.

And that was as awkward as it got.

He looked at Effie, unsure of what to do, and she looked at him as well, just a moment before everyone else realized they were the only ones left. She cleared her throat, as everyone was still laughing at something Boggs had said, and stood up.

"I suppose there's no need to make any guesses," she joked. Haymitch stood up at well, ignoring the few whistles thrown at them. They met halfway, the middle of the circle they had formed for the gift exchanging, and Effie was blushing a little — but perhaps it was the eggnog — as she gave him the rather large bag sitting under the tree. "You go first."

He nodded, if only because he really wanted to just postpone Effie opening his gift.

The room was mostly silent as he tore the paper apart, only to reveal a rather large book.

A cookbook.

Effie appeared to be fighting a smile, but then Chaff let out a rather loud laugh, and Haymitch was sure his astonished face had been enough for the whole room to laugh too, even if they didn't know what it was about.

"Chaff gave me the idea," Effie explained. "Your original gift is in the bag too. Sorry," she said, probably because he was glaring at Chaff.

"It's fine," he dismissed it, not really minding the joke. The real gift was a recently published mystery novel he had been meaning to buy. "Hey. Thanks."

She seemed to be satisfied with his answer. "My turn now."

People were still laughing over him getting a cookbook — was he really that clueless in the kitchen? and how did everyone even know? he'd have to talk to Chaff about it — and Effie looked almost giddy as she opened the package and it revealed a velvet box. The room was strangely silent now, and Haymitch shuffled in his feet awkwardly, wondering if he could just go back to his seat. Effie gave him an odd look before she opened the box, and then her eyes lit up when the content was revealed to her.

"Oh, it's beautiful," she muttered, glancing at him again. "Thank you, Haymitch."

"It's nothing," he said a little awkwardly, not enjoying the attention at all.

"Well, put it on," Portia said, eyes amusedly flickering between the two of them. "Let us see what you got."

Effie looked at him again. "Haymitch, would you…?"

"Oh, sure," Haymitch said, taking his books to his seat and walking back towards Effie. He took the necklace from the box and she turned around complicitly, holding out her hair so he could see the back of her neck. Her perfume was sweet and yet soft, and he decided he liked it a lot. It took him a while to close the necklace properly. "Sorry. Unsteady hands."

It wasn't a lie because he was a recovering alcoholic and she knew it, but she didn't know his hands were shaking because he was kinda nervous.

It was stupid, really. The moment she turned out and he saw the necklace on her, he knew it was perfect; it was a simple thin silver chain with a turquoise pendant. Maybe it didn't go with the outfit, but he had been a fool to worry because — well, he was convinced anything Effie wore would look perfect on her.

"Thank you," Effie said with a smile, looking down on the pendant; the women cooed a little and Haymitch had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

"So is it time for food yet?" Chaff asked rather loudly, and everyone started standing up. Effie traced the outline of the chain with her fingers and gave Haymitch one last smile before Portia approached her to properly check her new necklace; Haymitch took that as his cue to leave.

When he sat at the table for dinner, sat next to Katniss and Prim — if five years ago someone had told him he'd be having a Christmas party with his veteran support group with his two nieces accompanying him, he'd have laughed in their faces — the girls perused his books with interest. Katniss laughed at the cookbook, then announced it was a very good addition, and Prim asked if he could do the mac and cheese recipe she had found in it, because she loved mac and cheese.

All kids did. He didn't know why he was only finding this out now.

Although, he supposed three months of living together didn't exactly make them learn everything they had to about each other and, well, the girls were only just starting to be comfortable towards him.

It was tough work.

After dinner, the group dispersed a little. Mags left rather early, although no one judged her because she really was the oldest there; if Katniss was unhappy Mags left with her grandson, who was just a year older than her, she did not let it be known, and simply returned to her book. He suspected he'd have to go back to the book shop and buy the sequel before she got bored of reading for good. Prim and Rue brought some of the pencils and papers from the children's corner and were drawing on the table. Haymitch… Well, he was contemplating if it was acceptable to leave already.

It was funny how he never lingered at parties now that he was sober.

He was flickering through the pages of the cookbook, throwing Chaff a dirty look — the man was on the other side of the room talking to Portia and Cinna — when he noticed there was a note attached to the first page.

 _Perhaps one day I could be part of the audience for such ominous cooking attempts. E._

Haymitch let out a breath.

He was gonna kill Chaff.

Or kiss him. He wasn't sure.

He raised his head just in time to catch Effie heading towards the kitchen area and he made up his mind.

"Katniss, look after your sister, okay?" he told the girl — it was unnecessary, really, because Katniss always watched Prim like a hawk, making sure she was okay.

The girl frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Just gonna talk to Effie real quick," he promised, and stood up.

He was surprised to find the kitchen empty, however. But the sliding door that led to the yard was unlocked.

He kept walking.

The yard wasn't much, really. There were some benches and he knew the garden could be pretty nice during spring, but it was really cold tonight. Effie was swiping through her phone when he stepped out, the faint blue light of the screen illuminating her features. Her eyes met his.

"You're gonna freeze out here," Haymitch commented, rubbing his hands in order to create some warmth. "Bet there's gonna be a lot of snow this Christmas."

"I can handle it. It's just for a little while," she shrugged, smiling softly at him. "Big plans for Christmas?"

"Nah. I s'ppose I'll try to make some dinner for us on Christmas Eve. Something fancy like mac and cheese," he added, and Effie chuckled. "The girls are spending Christmas Day with their mom, she's at a clinic downtown. I'll drive them in the morning and pick them up later. What about you?"

She swiped through her phone distractedly, closing down apps. "Christmas Eve with my brother. Nothing on Christmas Day. My parents are in Vermont skiing and my sister is in Vegas."

"What, you didn't join her for the partying?" Haymitch asked. He could envision her being a party girl, truly.

But Effie laughed. "No, that's behind me. I think I finally got too old for that."

Haymitch snorted. "If you're old, what am I? Although I was never the partying kind."

"No, I didn't think you would be," she laughed. Her phone's screen turned off and she crossed her arms in front of her, hugging herself. It was pretty cold. "You know, I used to smoke when I was in college. A really bad habit, I know. I abandoned it, but it turns out I rather like the opportunity of being away from a party for a few minutes," she laughed. "It's silly. I told Cressida I needed to call my mother really quickly."

"I won't tell if you don't," Haymitch surrendered. He leaned against a wall, just across from her. "Solitude is good sometimes."

She nodded, her phone's screen turning black as she turned her attention towards him. "Not all the time."

"Not all the time, no," he agreed.

They looked at each other for a moment, in the darkness of the yard. Effie licked her lips. He thought maybe she had stepped closer.

"You're still wearing the necklace," he commented. "I thought you'd take it out because it wouldn't go with your outfit or whatever."

"Oh, no, it's lovely," she quickly said. "I mean, the dress is almost neutral, truly," he didn't consider red a neutral color, but he wasn't going to disagree. "I do love the rock. It's such a pretty color."

"I thought it might go with your eyes," Haymitch said, a little sheepishly. "Ended up getting Prim bird earrings and a bird pin for Katniss, too. But they helped me choose, so it was worth it."

She stared at him in a way he felt almost uncomfortable — maybe she pitied him for having to look after the two kids now, but he didn't think she'd be the type to do that.

Finally, she spoke.

"You say the sweetest things sometimes, you know?"

He arched his eyebrows. "Me?" he snorted. "Sorry. That's a first for me."

She shook her head.

Awkward silence followed, if only for a moment.

"Listen—"

"I wanted to—"

Haymitch smiled, shook his head. "You go."

"I wanted to apologize," Effie started again. "I really treated you poorly. I learned about your situation later, and I kept hoping you'd show up and we'd be able to talk, but we never did."

Haymitch pursed his lips. "Should apologize as well. I could've called you that evening, but it all happened so fast," he put his hands in his pockets. Their breaths mingled in the cold air. "Shouldn't have avoided you, either. Sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine. Don't worry."

"I really wanted to go," Haymitch assured her. "To the date, that is."

Her eyes flickered on his face nervously, then she smiled. "It _was_ a date, right? I was beginning to think I was just seeing this differently."

Haymitch chuckled. "Nope. Took me months to ask you out. If it was just to be friends I'd have done it sooner."

Effie gasped. " _I_ asked you out."

"No, you said you were craving Italian food," Haymitch started, "and then I said I knew a place."

"And I said we should go there!" Effie completed. "Come on. That was a very not subtle me asking you out thing."

"Well, I fell into it because I wanted to, didn't I?" He continued. Effie laughed. Damn, he had missed her. He cleared his throat. "Say, you wanna give this another shot? I'll understand if you don't, with the girls and all."

He lowered his eyes — a refusal was always a possibility that he needed to face.

"I'd love to," Effie said, loud and clear. He raised his eyes to meet hers — they shone just like the necklace he had given her. "I think you're doing a great job with them, by the way. They seem very sweet."

"You'll like them," he promised, then caught himself. "I mean. You'd like them. You don't have to meet them for real, I mean… I didn't mean that you'll be close to them. Just… I'm making a mess out of this," he made a face when Effie laughed. "Okay, so, uh… I'm a terrible cook. You got me a cookbook. What do you say we try to make a Christmas lunch together, since we're both free?"

"That sounds lovely," Effie said after a moment.

"You gotta help, though," he added. "We gotta make sure it'll be edible and you probably know your way around fancy food."

At this, she burst out laughing. "Oh, darling, you have no idea."

Her hand brushed against his arm and stayed there. Their eyes locked.

"That was a whole plan because you're a terrible cook as well, wasn't it?" Haymitch smirked.

"Well, I know the basics," Effie offered, then cringed. "Not a lot more than that, though."

"You just wanna date me for my cooking skills," he rolled his eyes. "Should've known it."

Effie nodded. "That's absolutely correct."

"I'm gonna kiss you now," he told her. "Okay?"

"I've been flirting with you since you got here, so," she started, making a face that was entirely too adorable, "yes, that's okay."

He rolled his eyes. "You're really annoying sometimes."

She opened her mouth, ready to retort, but he leaned in and kissed her before she had a chance to speak.

And it was glorious.

She tasted like eggnog and she smelled sweet and her lips were really soft against his — after a few seconds she melted against him and they were embracing, her cold palms pressed against his shoulders and his arms around her waist and _damn_ , he never wanted to stop kissing her.

"Fuck, you're freezing," he commented when she pulled away from him, foreheads pressed together. He rubbed his hands against her back, and managed to pull her even closer to him.

"I should be vexed that you said I was annoying," she warned him, eyes, still closed.

"Annoying _sometimes_ ," he corrected. "Good kisser, though."

She smirked. "Yes, I've heard that before."

He laughed — a full laugh. And kissed her again, because he had to check, really. One kiss hadn't been enough.

Two weren't enough either.

By the time they got back inside, hands untangling as Effie retouched her lipstick and made sure there was no trace of it on his own lips, his heart felt lighter and he didn't even mind the knowing looks of those still present who had noticed the two of them being absent at the same time. Effie's cheeks were rosy not just from the cold and he thought she had never been as beautiful as when they shared a look upon entering that room. He thought maybe it'd be best to keep this to themselves, but since everyone had probably guessed or at least suspected, he nudged Effie at the waist and asked her if she wanted to sit with him at the table — Prim seemed to be very close to sleep now — and she did so, much more at ease with the children than he had been at first.

She even got Katniss to tell her about the action scenes in Harry Potter — and he didn't even know there were any of those. Apparently Effie knew much more about pop culture than any of them.

His life had definitely been shaken up to the core this year, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

 _A/N: Don't forget to leave a review if you happen to have the time to write something, they make my day!_


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